Latest news with #TransparentUtah
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Utah Capitol paychecks: Why top government staffers make more than big state counterparts
The top government employees at the Utah Capitol earn more than their counterparts in some of the country's most populous states, according to publicly available salary information. The chiefs of staff for the Utah Governor's Office, Utah Senate and Utah House all made over $300,000 in 2024, with each position receiving a 40% raise over the previous two or three years, according to data that is accessible through the Utah state auditor's Transparent Utah website. Legislative leadership said the salaries and raises are justified because Utah's part-time Legislature and its relatively small number of legislative staff require the people in full-time positions to cover a variety of responsibilities, making the jobs demanding and difficult to fill in the state's tight labor market. Jon Pierpont, who Gov. Spencer Cox brought on as chief of staff in 2021, received a salary of nearly $338,000 in 2024, not including benefits, which add nearly $123,600 to last year's total. Cox earned just over $182,200 that same year, with an additional $62,800 in benefits. It is not unusual for a governor's chief of staff to make more than a governor. This was the case in most of the states reviewed by the Deseret News. Similar chief-of-staff positions for governors in other states with easily accessible government employee data all made less: Utah: $337,986 (2024) Texas: $335,710 (2025) Connecticut: $240,710 (2025) Indiana: $220,000 (2024) New York: $214,322 (2023) Ohio: $212,991 (2024) Florida: $205,486 (2025) Idaho: $189,509 (2025)* Massachusetts: $185,285 (2024) *Estimate based on hourly rate. Of these states, Utah has one of the smallest populations, at 3.5 million, compared to 31.3 million in Texas, 23.4 million in Florida, 19.9 million in New York, 11.9 million in Ohio, 7.1 million in Massachusetts, 6.9 million in Indiana, 3.7 million in Connecticut and 2 million in Idaho. 'The context matters: He not only leads the Governor's Office as Chief of Staff, but also serves as Chief Operating Officer over 20 state agencies and 22,000 employees — overseeing a budget and workforce larger than those managed by most tech CEOs,' said Rob Carroll, senior adviser for communications to Cox, in a statement. Utah state executive offices are each headed by a director, a commissioner or board members who report to Pierpont. Most of these leaders belong to Cox's Cabinet and earn between $200,000-250,000 a year. Before joining the Governor's Office, Pierpont, who attended the University of Utah, worked as the executive director of Utah's Department of Workforce Services for eight years under former Gov. Gary Herbert. Pierpont's annual salary doubled during his first year as chief of staff from $120,574 in 2021 to $242,572 in 2022, before increasing by $50,000 in 2023 and $40,000 in 2024, constituting a nearly 40% raise over those two years. The chiefs of staff in Utah's state House and Senate have also seen regular salary increases. While the Legislature appropriates funding for government agencies, each office determines employee salaries. The Senate president and House speaker determine the salary of their respective chief of staff. Senate chief of staff Mark Thomas' salary has increased from just under $148,000 in 2019 to more than $314,200 in 2024, including a 20.5% raise from 2023 to 2024. These totals do not include benefits which made up another $117,300 in 2024. Here's how that salary compares to similar positions in other states: Texas: $335,000 (2024) Utah: $314,226 (2024) Indiana: $235,242 (2024) Connecticut: $226,425 (2025) Florida: $213,216 (2025) Ohio: $211,312 (2024) Massachusetts: $187,537 (2024) New York: $175,994 (2023) Idaho: $101,234 (2025)* *Estimate based on hourly rate. Utah's Senate chief of staff oversees all Senate employees and works with legislative leadership to 'manage the day-to-day operations of the Senate' and to coordinate with the House and Governor's Office, according to a statement from the state Senate majority. Thomas, who studied political science at the University of Utah, came to his Senate position from the Lieutenant Governor's Office, where he served as the state's elections director under then-Lt. Gov. Cox. Likewise, over the past four years, House chief of staff Abby Osborne's salary has increased from around $183,800 in 2020 to nearly $315,200 in 2024, with a 15% raise from the previous year. This does not include the $104,800 she also received in benefits. Here's how that salary compares to similar positions in other states: Utah: $315,194 (2024) Texas: $250,000 (2025) Connecticut: $219,115 (2025) Florida: $205,008 (2025) Ohio: $193,059 (2024) New York: $184,886 (2023) Indiana: $183,534 (2024) Massachusetts: $174,983 (2024) Idaho: $103,896 (2025)* *Estimate based on hourly rate. Osborne, who studied business management at Montana Technological University, previously worked as the senior vice president of public policy and government relations for the Salt Lake Chamber. While it comes out near the top in terms of chief of staff salaries, Utah has a shorter legislative session than any of the other states. In 2025, Utah's first-in-the-nation session was 45 days long. Meanwhile, Florida's will be 60 days, Idaho's will be 95 days, Indiana's will be 112, Texas' will be 140, Connecticut's will be 148 days and Ohio's, Massachusetts' and New York's are year-round. As a part-time citizen legislature, Utah employs fewer full-time staff than most states, potentially putting more responsibility on the chiefs of staff to handle a greater variety of jobs and to manage some of the workload of the Senate president and House speaker during the interim. Here are the nine states considered above, ranked by the number of full-time legislative staff in 2021, with the number of part-time employees hired during the session in parenthesis: New York: 2,850 (88) Texas: 1,619 (299) Florida: 1,448 (103) Massachusetts: 791 (0) Ohio: 436 (0) Connecticut: 427 (70) Indiana: 270 (38) Utah: 165 (74) Idaho: 89 (124) For fiscal year 2021, Utah spent less on legislative branch expenditures than 41 other states, ranking fifth in the country when comparing legislative costs to Utah's overall budget, according to a report from the National Conference of State Legislatures. Since 2004, Utah's population has increased by 45% but the number of state employees has increased by just 7%, according to the Governor's Office. A joint statement from Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, and House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, said that as one of the fastest-growing and best-run states in the nation, Utah requires 'the hard work, expertise and dedication of highly qualified public servants.' 'Staff who manage operations, advise decision-makers and oversee a wide range of urgent, sensitive and complex issues are indispensable,' the statement said. 'Utah's part-time legislature is backed by a full-time staff, creating an efficient structure that enables lawmakers to concentrate on serving the public while relying on a dedicated team to provide ongoing support. This requires long hours and high levels of dedication. That's why it's not just important but essential to have the right people in key positions.' Utah's citizen Legislature pays part-time lawmakers $293.55 per day for all authorized legislative days, for a total of $13,200 delivered as a lump sum payment before the beginning of the session, according to a 2024 report. Lawmakers may receive reimbursements for travel, meals and lodging and are also entitled to retirement benefits and a health care insurance package. Legislative leadership also receive a bonus of $3,000-5,000 a session depending on their position, with the average legislator making nearly $37,200 a session. Schultz and Adams in their statement said that the compensation appropriated for their top aides is 'comparable with wages for city, county and state level executive employees.' 'We deeply value the contributions of all our state employees, and we believe that investing in top-tier talent is critical to safeguarding Utah's long-term success and ensuring the sustainability of our government,' the statement said. In the upcoming year, Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall is estimated to make just under $189,300, while her chief of staff, Rachel Otto, will make over $231,000, not including benefits. Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson made just over $191,600 in 2024, while her chief of staff, Andrew Roberts, made over $151,400. Meanwhile, Provo City Mayor Michelle Kaufusi made $145,000 and her deputy, Isaac Paxman, made just over $149,300. Last month, Senate Budget Chairman Jerry Stevenson, R-Layton, said that lawmakers approve higher salaries for their staff 'to keep everyone up into what we call 'market.'' Senate Minority Leader Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City, defended the salaries Utah pays. Top legislative aides are 'very unique positions,' she said. Adams said it comes down to supply and demand. It is hard to hire qualified attorneys in Utah's tight labor market, Adams said, suggesting that salary surveys had showed a need for raises. 'We've either got to pay our people competitively or we're not going to have people. And that's probably the bottom line,' Adams said. In several analyses, Utah ranks around the middle of the pack in terms of cost of living, with Forbes naming it the 20th most expensive place to live in the country, U.S News & World Report naming it No. 25 and World Population Review putting it at No. 17. On housing affordability, however, Utah ranks among the very worst. World Population Review places the state sixth highest on a scale of median home value, and ATTOM data puts it at No. 7, with a median home price of over $550,000. Utah is tied in seventh place for lowest unemployment rate in the country.
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
My tax money went where? State auditor Tina Cannon wants to open the door on Utah transparency
The Utah Legislature voted on how to spend $30.85 billion in state and federal funds during the 2025 legislative session and approved policies impacting another $30 billion in state revenue. Utah's new auditor, Tina Cannon, said she wants to empower residents to see how much their government has grown and to verify exactly where those dollars end up to help hold state officials accountable. 'Our job is to shine a light and that's where it comes back to the public,' Cannon said. 'We need the public to be able to see the data, use the data, and they can do what we don't have the time to do.' The auditor is a statewide constitutional office tasked with tracking over 1,800 government entities, ensuring compliance with some state laws and conducting independent audits into public universities, government projects and election processes. Before she was elected to replace John Dougall as state auditor, Cannon worked as a partner at an accounting firm, served as a county council member in Morgan County, ran for Congress and worked as Dougall's deputy financial auditor. Amid national conversations about the Trump administration's overhaul of federal agencies through the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, Cannon has literally opened the doors of her office to Utahns. Upon entering office in January, Cannon opened a 'transparency room' in the Utah Capitol Building where the public is welcome to explore the 'Transparent Utah' website and make in-depth spending queries with the help of Cannon's team of data analysts. Since taking up the role as auditor, Cannon has also worked with what she calls 'the best data analytics team in the country' to launch three new interactive dashboards that break down government revenue and expenditures since 2005, and higher education spending over the past decade. Cannon plans to release other tools in the near future that clarify the total cash held by the state and that compare the difference between state agency budgets and their actual expenditures, she said. While the information presented on 'Transparent Utah' is already public, Cannon said it can be difficult to navigate for regular Utahns without an accessible website. 'We want the public to know what we know,' Cannon said. Making government activity transparent and easy to find — whether it's nonprofit grants or officer salaries — shouldn't bother those with nothing to hide, Cannon said, and will make it possible for concerned citizens to do their own digging and reach out to their representatives with more informed questions. 'I think more information is the solution, not less,' Cannon said. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox told the Deseret News that Cannon's office is one of the reasons why he thinks Utah is 'the model for DOGE.' On the final night of the legislative session, Cox explained that his office, which implements many state programs and awards funding to nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), undergoes 'layers upon layers' of audits each year. 'We feel like we're visiting the proctologist multiple times every year,' Cox said. In addition to investigations from the State Auditor's Office, Cox's administration regularly responds to queries from the Office of Legislative Auditors and conducts internal audits so members of Cox's Office of Management and Budget can defend each department to lawmakers on the relevant appropriations subcommittee. 'We've been DOGE-ing before it was cool,' Cox said. 'This never happens at the federal level. You can go 50 years without having to defend a program at the federal level.' These practices are part of why Utah has frequently been named one of the best-managed states in the country, according to Cox. But Cox said his office continues to discuss ways the state can do more to 'make sure that every dollar that is being spent is legitimate, that it's being spent in a way that has been authorized by the Legislature.' The work of DOGE at the federal level, including observations made by Utah's DataRepublican, have pointed to situations where taxpayer funds are made so hard to track that voters often don't know when sitting officials are sending taxpayer funds to NGOs that they are involved with. Ron Mortensen, a retired career U.S. Foreign Service officer, and an immigration law enforcement activist in Utah, said concerned citizens like himself still struggle to find answers to their questions about how taxpayer funds are actually used once they are allocated by the Legislature. ''Transparent Utah' has a lot of data but it is really hard for the average citizen to dig down into it,' Mortensen said. Mortensen, who visited Cannon's office this week to get help tracking down payments made to a nonprofit, suggested that the auditor's office invest in artificial intelligence tools, like that would allow citizens to track how an organization receives funding, what it is used for and which policymakers are involved. The auditor's office already uses AI to pull out the datasets they use to make their interactive dashboards, Cannon said. But the auditor's oversight is limited when it comes to how public funds are used by NGOs. 'I can tell you what every government agency has spent, but once that government agency gives the money to a private entity, my oversight stops,' Cannon said. While Cannon does audit NGOs if they receive more than a certain threshold of public funds, there are some instances, like with Utah Charter Academies, where an organization receives large amounts of public funds but are not required to submit financial statements to the auditor. This is one of the areas where Cannon sees room for improvement on the state level to increase transparency and trust in government. Adding requirements for sitting officials to remove themselves from certain boards or organizations, or to recuse themselves from decisions where they have a conflict of interest would also be a step in the right direction, she said. Until then, Cannon said her office believes that making potential conflict of interest accessible to voters, beyond conflict of interest disclosures, is part of their mission. 'That is also part of transparency,' Cannon said. 'I would argue the taxpayer has a right to know what those conflicts are, and be made aware of them easily.'
